40 YouTube stats and facts to power your 2020 marketing strategy

YouTube isn’t just the go-to destination for video content; it’s also the second most visited site after Google.

Though you may think 15 years is a long enough time to see this kind of success, the platform was already seeing rapid growth just one year after its launch in 2005. By July 2006, it was accounting for 60% of all online video views.

So whether you need an instructional video on how to do something or you want to watch something entertaining to pass the time, YouTube is where it’s at. With the platform being so popular and engaging, you can’t afford to exclude it from your marketing mix.

YouTube demographics statistics

Understanding the YouTube statistics on demographics and usage will give you a better understanding of the platform’s potential to reach your target audience. Find out just how big of an impact YouTube can have on people’s online activity:

There are now 2 billion unique YouTube users every month–a 5% increase from the previously-reported numbers in 2018. This makes it one of the biggest social media platforms. Now it’s all the more important to include it in your marketing strategy regardless of your industry or niche.

If the massive user count isn’t enough to convince you, note that the platform reaches more U.S consumers between the ages of 18 and 49 than all cable TV networks combined.

After Netflix, YouTube is also the second most-preferred platform for viewing videos on TV screens among 18-34-year-olds.

YouTube is the perfect platform for reaching a teenage and young adult audience, as 81% of US internet users aged between 15 and 25 are using the platform.

Interestingly, YouTube is popular across other age groups as well. There’s a 71% usage among US internet users ages 26-35, 67% among ages 36-45, 66% among ages 46-55 and 58% among ages 56 and older.

The platform attains global reach as users can access it in 80 different languages. In fact, YouTube has even launched local versions of the platform in 100+ countries.

But even if you’re only marketing your business on a national level, YouTube is still an excellent platform because its largest audience base is in the US. According to Alexa, 15.2% of its site traffic comes from the US.

Plan your YouTube content efficiently with Sprout Social

Lay out your upcoming calendar of scheduled videos and review everything from your videos and captions in Sprout’s Publishing Calendar.

Your team can easily pull in pre-approved text from Sprout’s Asset Library so every post matches your brand voice perfectly.

YouTube usage statistics

YouTube video statistics suggest that watching YouTube on TV screens is becoming increasingly popular. As of March 2019, users were watching over 250 million hours of YouTube on TV screens–a 39% increase in less than one year. These numbers exclude viewing on Google’s internet pay-TV service and YouTube TV.

In spite of this new trend, mobile still dominates among YouTube users with 70% of the total watch time coming from mobile devices.

More than 500 hours of video were uploaded every minute–a 40% increase since 2014. In other words, that’s about 30,000 hours of new content uploaded every hour.

The average user spends about 11:50 minutes on the platform every day and views about 6.740 pages, suggesting high levels of activity.

According to YouTube video stats, music videos get the most love from viewers. In fact, they make up a majority of the top 30 most viewed YouTube videos with “Despacito” topping the list at 6.60 billion views.

YouTuber stats and facts

An overview of the top YouTube channel stats and YouTuber stats will help you understand which channels and content creators have the most power on the platform. Use this data to fuel your influencer marketing and partnership strategies for 2020:

YouTube channel stats show that T-Series is still the most popular channel as of January 2020 with 123 million subscribers. This is in spite of the 2018 fake subscriber controversy where the channel lost 200,000 subscribers after a YouTube crackdown.

Video game commentator PewDiePie comes second with 102 million subscribers.

But when it comes to revenue, YouTuber statistics and data show that the kids are raking in the big bucks. The highest-paid YouTuber is 8-year-old Ryan Kaji, who made $26 million between 2018 and 2019 for his unboxing videos.

While Dude Perfect comes second with $20 million in earnings, 5-year-old Anastasia Radzinskaya comes close with an approximate earning of $18 million.

The former top-earning YouTuber, PewDiePie is now in seventh place and ties with Markiplier with an approximate earning of $13 million.

In the beauty industry, influencer content accounts for 60% of the video views on YouTube while brands accounts for 39%. The remaining 1% of views goes to publisher content.

YouTube marketing statistics

While YouTube stats on demographics and usage are useful, the stats that marketers need the most are specific to marketing and advertising. Check out these key YouTube statistics on marketing and advertising:

In spite of the push for video content, marketers are still falling behind in nurturing their YouTube presence. Sprout Social found that only 24% were planning to create a strategy for YouTube Live, although live video is what consumers want to see most from brands among rising social trends.

There’s a reason you’re seeing more and more YouTube influencer marketing campaigns. People love content creators on the platform and continue to engage with their content. In fact, 70% more users followed and engaged with influencer content between 2017 and 2018.

During the same time, people also became more interested in watching YouTube videos for purchase inspiration. There was a 2X increase in watch time for “which product to buy” videos.

YouTube is currently the second most important social media channel for influencer marketing, with 70% of marketers voting for it. YouTube videos are also the third most effective influencer marketing format after Instagram posts and Instagram Stories.

Not surprisingly, over 90% of shoppers have discovered a brand or product through the platform. This further affirms the platform’s power on people’s purchase decisions and the need to include it in your social media marketing strategy.

When creating your YouTube marketing videos, production quality is important. But relatability is 1.6x more important. People want to watch videos that relate to their passions; aim for passion and authenticity in your 2020 video marketing strategy.

YouTube advertising stats

When it comes to paid social, YouTube is the third most popular platform among marketers with 48% of them investing in it.

Marketers also consider pre-roll skippable video ads on YouTube as the most effective ad format, getting 29% of the votes.

Naturally, 78.8% of marketers say that YouTube is the most effective video marketing platform, beating Facebook, which got 58.5% votes.

The platform also accounts for 27.1% of digital video ad spending with 62% of marketers planning to increase their video ad spend on YouTube.

These numbers aren’t surprising considering how 70% of short ads on the platform significantly increases brand awareness.

In fact, 90% of ads on YouTube drive a lift in brand recall.

What’s even more impactful is a Google Preferred ad, which lets you share your brand message alongside YouTube’s most engaging and impactful content. These ads drive a 112% lift in brand recall and a 53% increase in purchase intent.

TrueView ads are equally impactful as they let users decide which ads they want to see. Eight out of 10 viewers prefer TrueView ad to standard in-stream ads. And nine out of 10 viewers believe that TrueView gives them a better viewing environment. It’s also beneficial for you as you only pay when someone specifically chooses to watch your ad.

YouTube stats for B2B marketers

Although a lot of the YouTube stats above focus on general user demographics and usage, that shouldn’t dissuade B2B marketers from utilizing the platform. YouTube can be a powerful platform for attracting and engaging a B2B audience as well, if you use the right strategies. Take a look at these B2B YouTube stats to fuel your marketing efforts for 2020:

Video is one of the top five most used content types among B2B marketers, with 71% of them using it. That means YouTube should be a part of your B2B marketing mix if you’re going to keep up with the competition.

YouTube is also the fourth most used social media platform for organic content marketing, with 53% of B2B marketers using it.

As for paid social, YouTube ranks fifth among the most used platforms. 11% of B2B marketers use the platform to distributed paid content.

Webinars are among the top-performing content types for acquiring and converting B2B leads because they’re informative and personal. So if you aren’t using them yet, make sure you include them in your YouTube marketing strategy for 2020.

In fact, 64% of B2B marketers increased their use of audio/visual content like webinars and live-streaming between 2018 and 2019. Record your webinar sessions and republish them on YouTube to attract an even bigger audience.

Making the most of these YouTube stats

These key YouTube stats and facts prove just how impactful the platform can be for both B2B and B2C marketers. Although it’s ideal for reaching a younger audience, YouTube is also powerful enough to engage consumers across all age groups.

Consider adding YouTube Live to your 2020 strategy because people are expecting to see live videos from brands. And if you’re going to run paid ads on the platform, you might want to go for Google Preferred and TrueView ads to get the best return on your ad spend.

Which of these YouTube stats stand out the most to you and why? Let us know in the comments. And don’t forget to follow Sprout on Twitter to get the latest updates on social media marketing trends.

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Published on January 29, 2020

Jacqueline Zote: Jacqueline Zote is a professional content writer and editor. Her interests range from pop culture and mythology to content development and social activism. In her free time, she goes on food adventures and writes unrhymed poetry. Her short fiction has appeared in anthologies published by HarperCollins Publishers and Zubaan Books.

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